President Trump Signals Imminent Heavy Strikes on Pickaxe Mountain as U.S. Expands Military Operations Against Iranian Targets Across the Region
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States is preparing to launch strikes against Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site and other similar facilities.
Responding to a question about whether Iran had moved nuclear centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain, Trump said the targeted area would likely come under attack in the near future.
“We’ll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon. There’s not a thing they can do about it. You know, normally I wouldn’t say that. If I thought they could do something about it, I would never say that. But we’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,” Trump said.
U.S. officials have previously stated that Iran may have stored nuclear centrifuges at the heavily fortified underground facility beneath Pickaxe Mountain. Trump added that the presence of centrifuges alone “doesn’t mean anything” unless Iran also possesses nuclear material.
The president did not provide additional details regarding the planned strikes, including when they might take place. His comments echoed remarks made earlier in July during an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, when he said the U.S. military would “give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon.”
Last summer, the United States and Israel carried out coordinated attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities as part of Operation Midnight Hammer. According to Trump, the ongoing conflict with Iran was initiated to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and to weaken the country’s nuclear program.
Over the weekend, the United Nations’ atomic agency said it is investigating reports of a strike on an Iranian nuclear site under construction in Darkhovin.
Trump made the remarks during an Oval Office meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Monday that another wave of strikes had been carried out against Iran.
In a post on X, CENTCOM said U.S. forces targeted Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems in an effort to reduce Iran’s ability to continue attacks on commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media reported explosions in the provinces of Fars, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, and Sistan and Baluchistan.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center also reported that a tanker came under attack Monday in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing its crew to abandon the vessel.
Meanwhile, Tehran expanded its attacks on U.S.-allied countries across the Middle East. Jordan’s military said Tuesday that Iran launched five drones and three missiles toward the country, all of which were intercepted and destroyed.
Bahrain activated its missile warning sirens Tuesday afternoon after another Iranian missile barrage targeted the island nation, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Iran later confirmed that it had launched strikes against Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, according to the semi-official IRNA news agency.
Tehran also claimed it had “destroyed the central data infrastructure” of an Amazon data center in Bahrain, according to IRNA. However, The Epoch Times said it could not independently verify the claim, and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. military also announced that a soldier killed in Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone was Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, a 30-year-old father from North Carolina who had served in the Army for nearly a decade.
Swinton will be awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Action Badge and will be promoted posthumously to staff sergeant. The Army said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding his death Sunday at an air base in Irbil.
Earlier this week, the Department of Defense also identified two service members recently killed in Jordan: 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas.
